New sauce fires up Farmers’ Market

By Scott Nicholson

nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on, and others just keep coming back for more.

It’s that last group that Dorene and Pete Jankowski targets with their handcrafted hot sauces sold and marketed under the name “Fire From the Mountain.” The couple raises hot peppers on their property in Zionville, and the work of a longtime passion is now bearing fruit.

Fire From The Mountain was born when Pete kept complaining that he couldn’t find any hot sauces he liked. Dorene, who was a professional chef at the time, took it as a challenge and hit the kitchen. Through seven years of experiments, she finally came up with some recipes agreeable to her husband’s taste buds, and he quickly shared it with his friends. A following was born, and eventually the couple decided to start a company and get their products before the public.

Dorene said the paperwork was challenging, especially because of the strict rules regulating food produced for sale. Because of concern over the safety of pickled and other acid-based products sold at farmer’s markets and roadside stands, new regulations require supervision by food safety inspectors.

Instead of building a commercial kitchen, the Jankowskis are participating in a licensed shared-use kitchen in Asheville called Blue Ridge Food Ventures, where smaller producers and companies can share costs and resources. It’s also allowed the Jankowskis a chance to make contact with growers who supply some of the ingredients for their line of sauces.

Fire From the Mountain offers a chipotle hot sauce flavored with smoked red jalapenos, garlic and onions billed as an “intense, smoky sauce.” The smoked habanero sauce is “not for sissies,” with the hot peppers smoked over apple wood. Chipotle Salsa is billed as “medium-hot,” and the company introduced a line of hot barbecue sauce this year.

Even the “medium-hot” variety is a little misleading, as Dorene said, “I don’t have a medium or mild flavor. That’s not what I’m making it for. Nobody else makes it hot with flavor. That’s my following.”

Despite the success of the sauce among friends, entering the business world took a lot of commitment, with Dorene quitting her job to give the sauce its chance to create heat in the market. 

“There’s a lot of money involved, with license and liability insurance,” she said.

Because of the vagaries of the High Country weather and growing season, the Jankowskis grow their own peppers but rely on other farmers for onions, garlic, tomatoes and other ingredients. They will have up to 400 pepper plants in their garden, in addition to other produce for home use. The couple typically cooks batches of 15 to 20 gallons at a time. Because habaneros grow in different colors at different stages of harvest, the color of the sauce can vary even though it’s the same recipe.

Dorene figured there would be local interest in the product because of the college student population, but said she’s been surprised to find fans of the feverish dip range to all age groups, even children. The couple mostly sells at the Watauga County Farmers’ Market, but has placed the product in a few smaller grocers. The company Web site at www.firefromthemountain.com gives information on wholesale and retail mail orders.

For now, the Jankowskis plan to keep their operation a two-person company and keep the fire on the mountain. “We’d really like to stay on a small, local scale,” Dorene said. “I’m not looking to be a mogul or anything. Every little town has a specialty.”